EXECUTIVE PROTECTION LIFESTYLE
207 episodes - English - Latest episode: 27 days ago - ★★★★★ - 169 ratingsThe Executive Protection Lifestyle Podcast hosted by Byron Rodgers takes the brand to another level by educating security practitioners and opening the world of private security up to the public.
In this podcast You will experience the private sector in a way that you never have before. The podcast is highly educational focusing on the most salient protection tactics while being careful not to forget the foundational principles that make us great at what we do. You will meet and become acquainted with various industry professionals who are making a difference in the protection game and you you will benefit from a behind the scenes look at the reality of the lifestyle behind the job that is only 1% of the security industry. While it can be a very glamorous and exotic lifestyle, the requirements to survive the lifestyle and achieve professional success can be crushing and many who attempt success in this industry fail as a result of various on scene after balls. This podcast will help professionals overcome those obstacles and mitigate risks to both their professional and personal lives as we talk about the lifestyle behind the game of executive protection.
Whether you are a civilian, you are in law-enforcement or the military, we believe this podcast has something for you because on a very basic level we are all protectors of the people we love and things we believe in on a daily basis. The truth is simply that there is so much more to this than meets the eye and if you really want to be good at what we do you must know that it’s more than just a job, this game requires a lifestyle. So please listen enjoy and take your protection game to the next level by enjoying the show.
One mind many weapons
- Byron
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Episodes
Season 3 Episode 105: The Power of Stories
March 29, 2021 09:22 - 1 hour - 254 MBTim Clemente is a living legend in many circles. While many of us have never known who he is or what he’s done he has impacted the world in his own way in a number of different elite fighting forces. He’s been an FBI special agent, swat team member, and an undercover drug smuggler assisting in the takedown of a major Mexican cartel. He’s been called one of the best terrorist hunters in the world and has been a subject matter expert on a number of major news outlets. Beyond all of this he’s ...
Season 3 Episode 104: Self Defense Starts With Self
March 22, 2021 11:46 - 1 hour - 182 MBMichael Janich is a living legend when it comes to martial arts. He’s been in the game for about as long as I’ve been alive and has been featured in many publications over the span of a few decades. It’s a rare occasion to have an opportunity to learn from men like this and so I consider it to be such an honor that he took time to speak with me on our podcast. Integrated Combatives is something that many instructors take a swing at but as you’ll see during this interview Michael definitely h...
Season 3 Episode 103: EP Pretenders
March 15, 2021 09:30 - 1 hour - 169 MBThis episode is a special one for sure! ER Ramblers has done it again with an amazing article all about executive protection pretenders. The article has had monumental success and I know that’s because it definitely hit a pain point within our industry. As I read the article I cringed, laughed, smiled, and felt compassion for the things many different people try to do to make it in this industry. I’ve always said that executive protection can be something like modeling or being a professional...
Season 3 Episode 102: The battle to do what you love
March 01, 2021 09:19 - 1 hour - 97.7 MBTomislav is an amazing executive protection professional who works out of Croatia and all over Europe. He’s been a friend of mine and a very valuable contact for a few years now and so it is an honor to bring him on the show as one of my go-to guys for that part of the world. Tomislav is a visionary and a top-shelf professional with an old-school ethos and as a result, his work ethic and integrity have always been extremely impressive to me. He is a patron of my school and a member of the Lea...
Season 3 Episode 101: Seatbelt Security
February 22, 2021 09:40 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBMax Joseph’s is a very well-known name within the realm of executive protection training especially within the California circuit of professionals. My first exposure to him was when I was encouraged to train with him through talent executive services which is a very high-end boutique private security company out of Southern California. For me, this was more than enough validation and I dove right in. I really appreciated his training because it not only covered the hard skills of executive ...
Episode 100: The Professional Protector
February 15, 2021 13:18 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBIf you’ve been with me this long I wanna say thank you. I truly want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for going on this journey with me and this brand. I want you to know that there is so much more coming out of this shop that hopefully will improve the lives of all of us. I am on this journey with you and it is truly an honor. I don’t make these episodes because I think I’m anything special. In fact, if there is anything special about me is that I know I’m nothing special but I still...
Season 2 EP 33: (IQ+EI) x EXP = Leadership Quotient
February 08, 2021 10:06 - 1 hour - 193 MBJerry Jacobs is an individual in the executive protection game who has been operating at some of the highest levels for years. With experience in law enforcement, running the California governor‘s detail, and also organizing international security operations on the private side; he brings a wealth of knowledge that is deep and truly multidimensional. Beyond all of those things, he has an amazing heart for service in general. His deep internal drive to serve others and create healthy, positi...
Season 2 EP 32: The Ultimate Safe Room Technology
February 01, 2021 07:10 - 1 hour - 197 MBI believe that in these times when things are changing all around us with regards to threat levels, enemy tactics, and social unrest it is very prudent to look outside the box at new protective measures. Yehuda Shmuel is a man who has had a career spanning multiple decades overseas in many permissive and non-permissive environments. Much of his career honestly remain in the shadows but what I love about this man is simply his heart to be a protector and to bring protective technologies to the...
Season 2EP 31: A Servant's Heart
January 18, 2021 09:34 - 1 hour - 236 MBSandile is a very close personal friend and an amazing executive protection agent. I’ve literally watched him work his way up the ranks using the secret weapon of service in order to gain enough ground to accomplish his goals. No matter what the obstacles have been in his way, he has overcome them through sheer determination, focus, and the maintenance of an unparalleled servant's heart. Being willing to do whatever needs to be done in order to contribute to the team allowed him to carve ou...
Season 2 EP 30: Humanization of the Protector
January 11, 2021 15:27 - 1 hour - 203 MBChris Story is a very well-known name within many high circles of our industry. He wouldn’t think so but he has an impressive background with time in special military units, contracting, and other great accomplishments. He has climbed the ladder of success in private security in order to be seen as a very valuable instructor and industry leader. He has shared the stage with other professionals at the top of our industry at a number of well-known venues. But what I truly appreciate about Chris...
Season 2 EP 29: Earn Your Respect
December 21, 2020 06:29 - 1 hour - 80.9 MBAnton Kalaydjian is one of those rare executive protection kingpins who has built his organization out of the values codes of honor and brotherhood. I see this more when it comes to professionals that have a gritty background with regards to the streets but I don’t know that much about Anton‘s past. What I do know is that he has been willing to go all the way to protect his teammates and his clients on multiple occasions and as he has proven during his time with 50 Cent where he was shot wh...
Season 2 EP 28: Edgeworth
December 14, 2020 09:27 - 1 hour - 197 MBWe live and now are required to work in a world where we must learn to deal with the reality of the digital age effectively. This means our security measures must also fully incorporate strategies that prepare us for additional and some unforeseen factors brought to bear as a result of the new digital landscape. Many professionals have been looking for ways to keep up with the changes and additional vulnerabilities and risks brought to our clients through the digital realm we are now all in...
Season 2 EP 27: A Servant - Discretion is the greatest part of valor
October 21, 2020 07:53 - 1 hour - 220 MBBazzel Baz has emerged to be one of the most special men I have interacted with in a very long time. A true warrior of the physical and spiritual kind. Individuals like him are of the rarest breed in my opinion and experience and I can only hope that as I evolve and mature, one day I can join the ranks of these great men. Bazzel has lived the life of a warrior and has done everything from CIA special operations leadership roles to Marine Corps Unit leadership roles to even having a career in ...
Season 2 EP 26: The Game is a Free Hustle and Sold Separately
October 05, 2020 08:30 - 1 hour - 159 MBRyan has worked all over the Rock and Pop scene of the entertainment executive protection industry. He’s been at it for over 20 years and so he is a wealth of knowledge. He also started in his early 20s around 22 years old so he’s grown up in this game… Growing up in this game is almost like evolving in dog years when it comes to what we do. Many professionals dabble in and out of executive protection for many years before getting on a full-time contract, and so while they may claim to do Ex...
Season 2 EP 25: Your Network = Your Net Worth
September 21, 2020 08:45 - 1 hour - 235 MBJosh is an industry leader in the Australian Executive Protection market. His company Empire Protection is a well-known and well-respected shop down under. Needless to say, it was an honor to be able to do this episode with him in order to add more flavor, diversity, and awareness to the Executive Protection industry about the differences and similarities of our beloved industry around the world. We talk about ways to network, techniques for finding work, and how to get in with the executive...
Season 2 EP 24: Entering Executive Protection
September 14, 2020 09:29 - 1 hour - 141 MBThis episode was taken from a live session I did inside of the Executive Protection lifestyle Facebook group. The EPL Facebook group is where it all started. At first, it was a dream simply to create a place where Executive Protection agents could share opportunities and industry tips tricks, and tactics with one another. It quickly grew and became much more than that as people started continually learning, sharing, and growing within our profession together there. As a result, I started th...
Season 2 EP 23: A more complete private security professional
August 24, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 185 MBIlya is an extremely rare type of security professional. He has a fast background and a number of different technical aspects of security, the management of field operations and teams as well as collegiate teaching experience. The synergy of experience and skills he brings to the private security industry is not only rare but taken with his overall level of intelligence and scholastic capabilities… Ilya is the type of professional I believe we all can learn so much from. I’m genuinely very ex...
Season 2 EP 23: A More Complete Private Security Professional
August 24, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 185 MBIlya is an extremely rare type of security professional. He has a fast background and a number of different technical aspects of security, the management of field operations and teams as well as collegiate teaching experience. The synergy of experience and skills he brings to the private security industry is not only rare but taken with his overall level of intelligence and scholastic capabilities… Ilya is the type of professional I believe we all can learn so much from. I’m genuinely very ...
Season 2 EP22: Gray Man Project
August 11, 2020 13:09 - 1 hour - 160 MBEvery once in a while, a Marine comes along and wants to make even more of a contribution. Brady seems to be one of those types of Marines. Although he has already completed his service, he continues to serve the communities and cultures he belongs to on many levels and in extracurricular ways. He is now an executive protection agent which is initially how I stumbled across him. He has a nonprofit that helps veterans find their way through taking them out in nature to do hunts, hikes, camp t...
Season 2 EP 21: A Heart for Protection
July 13, 2020 10:57 - 28 minutes - 39.8 MBWhen I first met Philip I was honestly impressed. It was at the very beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic and my company was being over tasked with security work. As the demands for manpower came in, I did everything I could to find high-quality individuals to train and put to work within Bravo Research Group. I conducted a virtual interview with Phillip to initially gauge his personality, social skills, and a few forms of intelligence. This interview is a very casual tool I use to help me unde...
Season 2 EP 20: Legacy
July 06, 2020 10:56 - 46 minutes - 63.9 MBDaniel Farr is private security professional. I have lots of respect for him, because he puts his heart and soul into the job he’s chosen to do. Always looking to raise the bar in his own life, gives him the ability to raise the bar in his company as he leads from the front and in the industry as his standards for training and work product are some of the highest. I first started my relationship with him at last year‘s Protector Symposium in November. It was an extremely good time and an ab...
Season 2 EP 19: My Brother's Keeper
June 22, 2020 10:36 - 1 hour - 148 MBWhen I first met Richard I was a little bit unsure… He reached out to me concerning a mentorship program I run through my Patreon account that I have since expanded through my online Executive Protection Training Course. Initially, I always wonder if the individual who I'm attempting to work with can learn how to market themselves to the industry in a dynamic way. I've learned that no matter what skillsets and abilities they come to me with if they're willing to do the work they can carve a...
Season 2 EP 18: The Marine Who Disarmed The Rioter
June 08, 2020 05:43 - 43 minutes - 99.5 MBShooter Rughi is now known to the world as the guy who snatched a rifle from the hands of a rioter during the George Floyd protests. His act of heroism was quick, decisive, violent, and effective. When you see him interact with the rioter, there is a distinct difference between the two human beings. One of them embodies the cool, calm but aggressively calculated body language of a professional, while the other person is just kind of bubbly and haphazardly flopping around not knowing what is a...
Season 2EP 17: Kidnap and Ransom Negotiations in Mexico
May 25, 2020 07:16 - 1 hour - 102 MBPablo has been south of the border in Mexico working hard retrieving kidnapped persons and doing many other things for well over a decade. I know him personally and can say that he is a gracious man, he speaks deliberately and takes in as much information as he can before he responds. At first, it doesn’t seem like much but after learning about his past and what he used to do for a living, it all started to make more and more sense. He now runs the AS3 Driving Academy where he trains protec...
Season 2 EP 16: I will never ask you to do what I will not
May 11, 2020 09:06 - 1 hour - 94.6 MBI must say that meeting and interacting with Jackie Davis was an absolute pleasure. She comes across as a very down-to-earth genuine professional with a respect for security work that is refreshing and rare. I appreciate her straightforward somewhat backhanded British charm but after talking to her for just a few moments you will realize that she is an undeniable wealth of knowledge with regards to Executive Protection that has genuinely come out of a lifetime of experience. This intervie...
Season 2 EP 15: Text Book VS Real World
May 04, 2020 07:53 - 1 hour - 165 MBKevin is a professional at the top of the executive protection game in Los Angeles, California. He comes highly recommended and was nominated to be on the podcast by Elijah Shaw himself. I first met Kevin in person at this last protector symposium we had in Irvine and I knew back then I was going to have to bring him on the show because the industry needed to hear what he had to say. With a background in law-enforcement and as a man dedicated to mentorship and making a difference in the li...
Season 2 EP 14: Romance vs Reality of the Job
April 27, 2020 07:36 - 2 hours - 182 MBShamir Bolivar Shadow is a very interesting individual. He represents a different type of animal in this game. He’s a very strong visionary which I love and his vision may even surpass my own when it comes to some things which are refreshing to me. He’s the real deal Shamir has the street credit, as well as scars and stripes to prove it. Men like him are worth every penny if you really believe you need protection. Underneath the physique, intellect, and experience he also has a secret weapo...
Season 2 EP 13: EPL Live
April 20, 2020 08:31 - 1 hour - 116 MBThis is a new content category I’m playing with where I’m able to have you all join me for the podcast as I record it. Elijah helped me stumble over this concept and so he’s the first one to roll it out with me. This is a fun episode where we work out a few kinks but get into some really good content that can help many professionals in light of current events. We traverse many topics having to do with: COVID-19 preparedness and strategies, branding/marketing, relationship building with pow...
Season 2 EP 12: You can’t be brave if you're not afraid
April 13, 2020 07:16 - 1 hour - 131 MBTony Blauer is a man who has literally dedicated his entire life to teaching people how to survive and prevail through violent encounters. He's done so many notable and paradigm-shifting projects and has changed the face of personal protection so many times that I would spend this entire write-up listing his accomplishments. It is a very rare opportunity to come across a man who has been operating at a high level of a specific game for such a long duration of time to have the perspective tha...
Season 2 EP 11: The Adaptician
April 06, 2020 06:47 - 1 hour - 115 MBCraig Douglas is a man I've heard so much about over the past few years. So when he agreed to join us for this year's protector symposium, I was very excited. For all of us! His training cadre Shivworks of which he is the lead instructor specializes in a specific type of training that I think is extremely important for executive protection professionals And, for civilians as well. Learning to fight in very tight spaces is what they are all about and if you ask me, this game has much higher ...
Season 2 EP 10: Innocent Armor
March 30, 2020 09:14 - 45 minutes - 63.2 MBMike comes across as the type of man who genuinely wants to do good for himself and the world. Very clean energy, a realist, a pragmatist, and altruist are some of the ways he strikes me after interacting with them on multiple occasions. Very technical very efficient and proficient at whatever he sets his mind to and so it is no surprise to me that his company is catapulting itself to the forefront of the protective armor game in our industry not only in America but also on an international l...
Season 2 EP 9: EP Martial Arts
March 23, 2020 06:41 - 1 hour - 93.1 MBThere are few men I run into who understand the warriors' path both internally and externally the way Alan Baker does. He’s humble, soft-spoken, intense and deep. If you pay attention you can sense the vastness of his internal presents. Many men claim to be eternal students and many of them are telling the truth but I sense that very few have taken that way to the lengths that Alan Baker has. He has lived the life of a martial artist for a few decades and he’s rearranged his entire life to do...
Season 2 EP 8: Training is a polishing action
March 16, 2020 05:17 - 1 hour - 145 MBBig John is the type of man I truly respect based on what I have seen of him. We live in a country where masculinity has been demonized and persecuted for a few decades now and so when I see a man who is unapologetic-ally healthily being masculine it is inspirational and rejuvenating to me. Big John uses this natural energy to inspire, teach and help others improve on a regular basis which is what healthy men do along with providing and protecting physically, mentally, emotionally and even ...
Season 2 EP 7: Considerations
March 09, 2020 10:08 - 39 minutes - 36.7 MBThe "Considerations Series" was something I started during the first season of this podcast. Sometimes it has to do with executive protection but many times it just has to do with life. My goal with this series is to mix in content about what it is we are all doing regardless of where we are on our journeys and with regards to the private security game. In this episode, I talk about a number of principles that are near and dear to my heart, these are the things that have helped me on my p...
Season 2 EP 6: Human Trafficking and the Satanic
March 02, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 114 MBJason pillow is one of those rare men who’s doing everything he can to not only improve his life but also improve the lives of countless others he’s never met and owes nothing to. He and his wife have a corporate entity named Archangel Ministries and they specialize in snatching the innocent from the sex trade. This episode may not be easy to listen to, for many of us, but it has to do with the type of darkness that I believe, is for some of us who have been created strong enough to fight ...
Season 2 EP 5:You can do it too
February 24, 2020 03:01 - 1 hour - 91 MBJesse is new to the private security game but he has already made quite an impact, many different industry leaders are noticing him and I believe it's because of a few simple yet valuable things he's doing for himself and his career. This is an episode that will inspire newcomers to the industry and remind the veterans of the passion and purpose they once found in the work that made it so invigorating in the beginning. The key is simply to have the internal discipline and thought process...
Season 2 EP 4: Authenticity
February 17, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 137 MBAll of this training with Firearms over the years has got me itching to be a bit more physical and so I have aimed to deliberately focus more on hand to hand Combatives and other things in between. So when I saw the content floating around the Internet of Raul grappling hard-core with some guys over a gun, I was naturally drawn in. After looking at much of his content, I realized that Raul is the type of protection centric professional that I can respect and naturally bond with. He’s not ...
Season 3 EP 3: Excellence is a habit
February 10, 2020 04:00 - 1 hourI take pause before writing this review for Charles because it’s very important to me that I do a good job helping you all understand what manner of man he is. When I was coming up in the game, I worked for Charles for a few years and I must say that I’ve never had a boss or mentor go the extra mile for me in the ways that Charles did routinely and not just me but for all of the guys on his team who worked to deserve it. The ones that didn’t deserve it he would always try to save but he was...
Season 2 EP 3: Excellence is a habit
February 10, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 133 MBI take pause before writing this review for Charles because it’s very important to me that I do a good job helping you all understand what manner of man he is. When I was coming up in the game, I worked for Charles for a few years and I must say that I’ve never had a boss or mentor go the extra mile for me in the ways that Charles did routinely and not just me but for all of the guys on his team who worked to deserve it. The ones that didn’t deserve it he would always try to save but he was...
Season 2 EP 2: The First Line of Defence
February 03, 2020 04:01 - 1 hour - 106 MBYousef Badou teaches what I think is simply the most important component of protection, situational awareness coupled with the ability to read and predict people through human behavior. As I try to spread the art of protection like a virus I have found Yousef to be one of my greatest allies simply because spreading soft skills is easier than spreading hard skills and so we aim to spread situational awareness like a virus. When people know what pre-threat indicators to truly look for, peopl...
Season 2 EP 1: The Groundwork
January 27, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 145 MBSeason two is coming in hot!!! I and Luke A. are laying down the groundwork for what you can expect out of the executive protection lifestyle podcast and brand this year. I've got no shortage of content this year and it is very exciting! I'm throwing down gear reviews, training reviews, real-world combat after-action reports, the EDC chronicles will continue and so will the considerations episodes. Perhaps most importantly, the interviews with the biggest and the best in the executive prot...
EP 66: Recap and Transition
December 30, 2019 03:52 - 43 minutes - 59.6 MBThis season has been absolutely epic!!! I started this podcast out as a cool side project that I could use to hopefully get the word out about ways to do the job better. I simply wanted to make a contribution to the industry that has been so good to me but I knew that the contribution needed to be something that wasn't all about me. The podcast would give me a perfect platform to do that by seeking out other industry professionals who were doing amazing things in the private security game. I...
EP 65: EDC 4 (Barry Mozian)
December 23, 2019 04:54 - 1 hour - 83.2 MBBarry is a private security professional of the highest order in my opinion. I remember the day I first saw the way he organized his gear because I instantly had 1 million different questions. I was just starting out working at the California circuit, renting myself out to the highest bitter and “chasing the pager.” After all of these years and after all of these experiences, once I started doing this Executive Protection EDC series, he was one of the industry professionals that stuck out i...
EP 64: Style is Communication
December 16, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 105 MBNot only is George Grant doing some amazing things for one of the top private security companies in the game but he’s also emerging as a liter on a topic that doesn’t get enough attention. That topic is the style of Executive Protection with regards to fashion and appearance. Most agents may pretend like they are too tough to take this topic seriously but it is a topic I’ve seen greatly impact Close Protection agents' careers on many occasions… To be entirely honest with you I can look at ...
EP 63: The Power of Being Genuine
December 09, 2019 03:30 - 1 hour - 103 MBI met Jeff at the Executive Protection Institute where we both trained for one week straight in order to become certified Close Protection Specialists and part of the Nine Lives Association. Instantly I could tell that Jeff was one of the smartest humans in the class. By intelligent, I don’t mean book-smart but his linguistic choices that were very thoughtful and tempered, the tone and feel of the way he communicated instantly caught my attention simply because of the warmness and appropriat...
EP 62: Fail Often to Succeed Sooner
December 04, 2019 01:11 - 1 hour - 113 MBCaleb Gilbert is truly a one-of-a-kind protection agent. With no military or law-enforcement background, he has legitimately changed the way people do executive protection in this modern age. As one of the original creators of the covert protection model, his contributions to the game of private security will far exceed his career. What I truly appreciate and respect about Caleb is simply that even after creating the COPRO strategy and operating within the levels of success relative to being...
EP 61: Tactical Light Source Considerations
November 25, 2019 02:49 - 1 hour - 140 MBChris Skahills has got to be one of the most technically proficient human beings I know. When he’s interested in something his mind is literally like an encyclopedia or a dictionary. He’s the type of guy who knows everything there is to know about a subject almost literally. In every squad you have people with different skill sets and beyond his martial arts background and being one of our best shooters/instructors, he’s also our light expert. He’s the guy you talk to before going to buy a...
EP 60: Better weapon better position
November 18, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 121 MBTom comes across as an extremely down to earth guy and honestly, that’s what I like most about him. As he spoke there wasn’t an error of this unrealistic capability that he could pretend that he has simply because he’s one of the main men in the knife fighting game but rather, he really seems to respect combative arts and the reality that in combat, anyone can kill you. We focused on knife fighting and blade encounters during this interview but it was also made clear to me that he also has ...
EP 59: The cost of the game
November 11, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 164 MBFain is a genuine, down-to-earth athlete/private security professional. We share almost a parallel story and path into the private security game. The opportunity came in an instant and we had to act decisively in order to take advantage of it. In many ways, we had to be willing to sacrifice everything that we used to be in order to take advantage of who will we could possibly become. It’s very interesting to me how everything tends to come full circle and we both eventually found ourselves w...
EP 58: Coming Up In The Game
November 04, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 97.4 MBKevin is a good friend of mine who I met through competitive shooting and Luke A. When I first met Kevin, he worked in the firearms industry for a large company that manufactures tactical products. Kevin was also an armor and so he was like our squad smart guy/armor/technologically sound troubleshooter dude if you know what I mean. Maybe not the sexiest guy in the squad when it comes to backgrounds because Kevin is pure civilian but very intelligent within his realms and a much better ...